“The quality of our lives depends upon how we focus our energy and attention”.
Our energy and attention are two very limited resources that we have at our disposal. Focus them in the wrong place and the quality of your life might not be where you wish it was. “Change your focus, change your life” is one of my favourite Tony Robbins expressions and one that has helped me numerous times to get everything back on track. Changing my mindset and what I focus on can have an immediate effect on how happy and productive I am. I have tried to developed certain routines or habits to help myself stay focused and can honestly say the quality of my life has really improved by eliminating negative elements from my life and focusing on the positive.
So why not try my 28 day positivity challenge? For a simple 28 days try this new and simple routine and watch how the quality of your life improves, you don’t have to live like this forever but try it and see how you feel and go back to your old routine if you don’t notice an improvement, what have you got to lose?
- Turn off the TV. Who gives a shit about the Kardashians, celebrity big brother or the latest reality show/soap. Live your own life and don’t waste it watching others live theirs. Don’t watch the news. Cut it out of your life for the 28 days. This might feel ignorant but remove this negativity from your life and see how you feel. Will anything bad really happen if you don’t hear about the latest murder, rise in interest rates or the latest political fiasco? Read, play with your kids, talk to your partner, meditate or exercise. Pick something that will enrich your life. If you do need to watch something be selective about what it is, watch something educational or a feel good story. Avoid mindless shit. Record anything you really want to watch and catch up with it again at a later date.
- Don’t buy any newspapers or magazines. Cut this source of negativity out for a few weeks. Again just avoid mindless celeb gossip or bad news. If you want to keep up with sport or a particular interest of yours just go directly to the appropriate website and by-pass the advertising and traffic that normally leads you there. Cut out anything you don’t need to get the info you want
- Gratitude journal. Grab a copy, notebook or even the notepad on your phone and at the end of the day, or when you are not watching TV, and do your gratitude journal. How do you do this? Each day simply write down 1 thing you are grateful for, 1 great thing that happened today, 1 thing you could have done better and 1 thing you would like to achieve tomorrow.
So a sample of this could be
- I’m grateful for…. (My kids being healthy, my new house, job I love etc.) Pick something you feel grateful for in your life. It will be different for everyone
- 1 great thing that happened today… (Did a random act of kindness, got a promotion, had nice dinner with partner) it doesn’t have to be a life changing moment every day, but each day has something great in it so acknowledge it.
- 1 thing I could have done better….. (Kept my cool, got up earlier, done my exercise, prep my meals) just analyze your day quickly and assess where you could have done one small thing a bit better.
- 1 thing I would like to achieve tomorrow (Get for walk with the kids, enjoy a bath, buy a new book) again nothing life changing but pick one little task to tick off by the end of the day and give yourself that satisfaction of another task completed
Give it a try, its only 28 day and you have nothing to lose and you will be amazed how you feel. The world will continue on without you worrying about it so try focusing on yourself, focus on improving your life and I guarantee you will the lives of those around you too.